TY - JOUR
T1 - Monoterpene separation by coupling proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry with fastGC
AU - Materić, Dušan
AU - Lanza, Matteo
AU - Sulzer, Philipp
AU - Herbig, Jens
AU - Bruhn, Dan
AU - Turner, Claire
AU - Mason, Nigel
AU - Gauci, Vincent
PY - 2015/10
Y1 - 2015/10
N2 - Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a well-established technique for real-time VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) analysis. Although, it is extremely sensitive (with sensitivities of up to 4500 cps/ppbv, limits of the detection <1 pptv and the response times of approximately 100 ms) the selectivity of PTR-MS is still somewhat limited, as isomers cannot be separated. Recently, selectivity-enhancing measures, such as manipulation of drift tube parameters (reduced electric field strength) and using primary ions other than H3O+, such as NO+ and O2+ have been introduced. However, monoterpenes, which belong to the most important plant VOCs, still cannot be distinguished so that more traditional technologies, such as gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), have to be utilized. GC-MS is very time consuming (up to 1 h) and cannot be used for real-time analysis. Here we introduce a sensitive, near real-time method for plant monoterpene research: PTR-MS coupled with fastGC. We successfully separated and identified six of the most abundant monoterpenes in plant studies (α- and β-pinenes, limonene, 3-carene, camphene, and myrcene) in less than 80 s, using both standards and conifer branch enclosures (Norway spruce, Scots pine and Black pine). Five monoterpenes usually present in Norway spruce samples with a high abundance were separated even when the compound concentrations were diluted to 20 ppbv. Thus, fastGC-PTR-ToF-MS was shown to be an adequate one-instrument solution for plant monoterpene research.
AB - Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a well-established technique for real-time VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) analysis. Although, it is extremely sensitive (with sensitivities of up to 4500 cps/ppbv, limits of the detection <1 pptv and the response times of approximately 100 ms) the selectivity of PTR-MS is still somewhat limited, as isomers cannot be separated. Recently, selectivity-enhancing measures, such as manipulation of drift tube parameters (reduced electric field strength) and using primary ions other than H3O+, such as NO+ and O2+ have been introduced. However, monoterpenes, which belong to the most important plant VOCs, still cannot be distinguished so that more traditional technologies, such as gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), have to be utilized. GC-MS is very time consuming (up to 1 h) and cannot be used for real-time analysis. Here we introduce a sensitive, near real-time method for plant monoterpene research: PTR-MS coupled with fastGC. We successfully separated and identified six of the most abundant monoterpenes in plant studies (α- and β-pinenes, limonene, 3-carene, camphene, and myrcene) in less than 80 s, using both standards and conifer branch enclosures (Norway spruce, Scots pine and Black pine). Five monoterpenes usually present in Norway spruce samples with a high abundance were separated even when the compound concentrations were diluted to 20 ppbv. Thus, fastGC-PTR-ToF-MS was shown to be an adequate one-instrument solution for plant monoterpene research.
KW - PTR-MS
KW - FastGC
KW - Monoterpenes
KW - VOC
KW - Plant VOCs
KW - Pinene
U2 - 10.1007/s00216-015-8942-5
DO - 10.1007/s00216-015-8942-5
M3 - Article
SN - 1618-2642
VL - 407
SP - 7757
EP - 7763
JO - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
IS - 25
ER -